All Forum Posts by: Christopher Trastoy

I use David Rosen from First State Mortgage. I've been going 15% with them for years.

@Christopher Trastoy thanks for the post here.  As you can see, lots of lenders offer 15% down.  Now, once you speak with them you might learn that you cannot do it...but they offer it.  Usually, when we are searching for lenders, title companies, plumbers, etc. it's best to ask other investors in your market who they use.  And I know, you were posting here to find out what other investors are doing...but you can see that just lenders are posting.  And how do we know if they are any good?  How do you know if I am?  Hard to say until you go through the process...but other real estate investors in your market HAVE worked with other lenders.  And while nothing is foolproof, that's usually the best way to start.  

So, try some local real estate meetup groups. Meetup.com is a good resource for those but some of the groups will also post here on Bigger Pockets Marketplace too. Bigger Pockets even has a little link at the top of this page "Find a lender" - try that.  Even facebook might have some good local groups for you. Some of those facebook groups have thousands of members. Eventbrite too. And remember, this goes for ANY vendor that you need.  Post locally for this. That’s the best bet.

Hi Eli, if you've got a 720 Fico and the property cash flows, it's a done deal. Sent you a PM!

If the amount is small, like say $1000 or 1500, it's probably not worth your time and effort to go back and collect. Essentially, you have to ask your ex tenant to pay it back unless you want to go to small claims. I don't see a motivation to pay it back especially if they are broke. If it is a large amount and you know they have documented income/assets, then it might just be better to sue if the tenants are not paying back. I just don't see the point of having a legal document with a payment plan. 

My little story, I had an ex tenant that owed about 3500. After he left, he did keep in contact on occasion and telling me he was working on getting money etc. but he is broke even to this day so I don't really have much expectation of getting it back soon if at all. He still gets collection agency letters to the address so yea the guy is not going to pay me back unless he runs into a bunch of money and changes his mindset. Sometimes you have to take a loss in this business.

@Christopher Trastoy where in NJ do you operate. Happy to connect. I own property from Essex county down to Atlantic and Cumberland counties